AC Milan got their first Serie A win under their new head coach Sergio Conceicao, but it required another second-half comeback against lowly Como.
The home side were in dreamland when the new signing Assane Diao fired past Mike Maignan with a low shot to cap a sweeping counter-attack, putting the home side 1-0 up.
However, just like they did against Juventus and Inter in the Supercoppa, Milan roared back and in quick succession. They equalised firstly when Theo Hernandez’s scuffed first-time effort looped into the back of the net.
Then, Rafael Leao collected a brilliant through ball from Tammy Abraham and lifted it over the goalkeeper give the Rossoneri the lead, and that is how it would stay.
It was a far from convincing performance yet again, but it is a result that puts a bit of pressure on the teams above, especially given Fiorentina’s loss on Monday night and the other midweek games to come.
Sergio Conceicao made two changes to the starting line-up from the team that drew with Cagliari on Saturday. The first alteration was in defence as Emerson Royal started over Davide Calabria, then in midfield Ismael Bennacer got the nod over Yunus Musah.
Just as they did on Saturday at San Siro, Milan started the game with plenty of pressure and pinned their hosts in. In the opening five minutes the best chance fell to the birthday boy Emerson on the far side of the box, with Kempf producing a great block to deny his shot.
Mike Maignan was called into action for the first time not long after that as Strefezza let fly with an attempt from distance that was sneaking in at the near post until the strong parry to safety.
A couple of minutes later Kempf glanced a free-kick wide of the far post and then Diao arrived to nod a cross wide of the same upright, though in the latter case he was flagged offside having gone too early.
The chances continued to flow in the early exchanges and Youssouf Fofana should have perhaps done better with a shot from the edge of the box after being teed up by Rafael Leao. The goalkeeper Butez in the end had an easy save to make.
Como were very close to taking the lead but for an excellent last-ditch clearance from Theo Hernandez at the far post, after Fadera’s low cross from the left almost found Diao’s late arrival.
The first yellow card of the game was awarded on 20 minutes and it was quite a significant one as it went to Alvaro Morata for a late slide that ended up nowhere near the ball. That caution meant he reached the threshold, and will be banned for the Juventus game on Saturday.
The Rossoneri really should have gone a goal ahead after some brilliant work by Rafael Leao. His nice flick started a transition attack which ended with Tijjani Reijnders having a shot saved having been put through by the Portuguese winger, albeit from a wide angle.
Milan continued to play out of the press impressively at times, and sprung openings before the half-hour mark which led to Fofana dragging a shot wide and Reijnders being caught up and tackled when trying to get one-on-one.
For all that the Diavolo did well getting out of pressure, they also coughed the ball up a couple of times in their own half and one led to a chance on 35 minutes. The ball was given away deep in the Milan half and worked to Strefezza on the right side, who put his foot through a cross/shot that sailed wide.
There was a worrying moment for Milan right before the break as Pulisic pulled up feeling the back of his thigh and instantly requested a substitution, with Tammy Abraham coming on to replace him. That wasn’t the only change though as two more came at the interval: Alex Jimenez and Yunus Musah on, Morata and Bennacer off.

Milan broke through Cagliari again six minutes into the second half, with Leao running into space and finding Jimenez, who beat the last defender and ultimately drew a save from Butez. The rebound dropped to Reijnders, whose acrobatic attempt flew over the bar.
Moments after Jimenez had again surged into the box and somehow been crowded out with the goal gaping, Como took the lead at the other end. A break went from the bottom left to the top right for the home side, with €12m January signing Diao cutting onto his left foot and firing a low shot past Maignan at the near post.
With 25 minutes on the clock a fourth change was made by Conceicao with Matteo Gabbia going on for Thiaw, who was on a yellow card from a previous foul.
Milan got themselves level in the game in the 71st minute, and it came in rather bizarre circumstances. A corner to the far post was knocked down by Gabbia, then Theo swung a leg at it and scuffed it, but did so at such an angle that it looped over the diving goalkeeper and into the top corner.
After the equaliser the final change came from Fonseca and it was an attacking one, with Francesco Camarda taking the place of Fofana.
Just five minutes later, the comeback was complete, continuing a theme under Conceicao. Abraham provided a brilliant through ball that nestled between the two Como centre-backs allowing Leao to race through and lift the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper with all the composure we have come to expect.
Cutrone was very close to coming back to haunt his former club and his boyhood team when a free-kick landed at the far post and he diverted a pass towards goal with a flick, but Maignan was equal to it.
That would be the final scare as Milan rode out the pressure of the final few minutes to hang on for an important three points. Tensions boiled over at the full-time whistle, with several players getting involved in an altercation, but no red cards were produced.
OK somehow we manage to grab a win – with some beautiful goals, one must say.
BUT…
A) we’re in a bad need of reinforcements – a proper, bona fide striker; an also a top level RB – although one must point out that Royal was the man behind the crucial sliding tackle on the beggining of the second goal;
B) Gabbia must be a starter on this side, I guess this is plainly obvious.
A beautiful goal and a fluke!
The crucial sliding tackle you speak of by Emerson was the result of him having the ball under no pressure and then giving it straight to a Como player, he then had to race after him to redeem the situation.
The credit for that goal is Abraham and Leao’s
“The crucial sliding tackle you speak of by Emerson was the result of him having the ball under no pressure and then giving it straight to a Como player, he then had to race after him to redeem the situation.”
Fair enough, watching a replay I see that your point is correct.
“Emerson was the result of him having the ball under no pressure and then giving it straight to a Como player”
Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! Emerson wouldn’t do that! He’s our best player!! No one should bad mouth him.
We have character and obviously more of a desire. But… We have a lot to work on and need some new players.
Obviously we are working better than before but the flaws still exist. Conceicao does know what he’s doing, and hope the work continues, and hope we do get some new players. Another midfielder and RB are needed.
We need a proper striker too, Goku. Morata can’t get the job done.
Agreed. And until we get that striker, I would play Leao and Tammy as a striking pair.
Really seems to be the best makeshift solution – Abraham it’a a little to bit inconsistent and irregular, but at least he’s not a statue like Morata…
Agreed. That slipped my mind. Abraham isn’t consistent either. I’m not sure what happened to Morata.
A very horrible 75mins we had to get a scrappy goal to equlise. These players are way to over thier heads.
Good result, subpar performance. If we continue to play like this we won’t reach top four. There are some positives, like our improved pressing coordination, but we were very weak in attack for most minutes of the match, and Como were the better team for 70 minutes (if not the entire match).
Gotta be honest… We got lucky today … Although I don’t usually believe it much, in a way it was not an entirely ‘deserved’ victory.
Good result poor performance
Bad performance, painful to watch. Two moments of brilliance but Theo was strolling and backing off for their goal again…we just can’t find a way past low blocking sides.
I said both Morata and Abraham sousing cut it pre season and now it’s evident. Rashford isn’t the answer
Thing is though, Como didn’t sit back. It was an open game. We were just erratic, not attentive enough. Should have played into our style of play, but it was just so ugly.
Ugly win is still a win. Nothing matters at this point. Just results. We needed these points.
this is true, we need to hunt down fourth place by any means
Very poor performance. Oh how much we miss giroud. Morata cannot be our sole striker, perhaps in a 4 4 2 but we desperately need a good striker.
this is true, we need to hunt down fourth place by any means
If the team can respond like this every time they go a goal down, good for us. However, we don’t have to wait until our opponents score b4 we respond. Also, 1 goal margin is not good enough. It puts the team under so much pressure. Fortunately, we were able to see it out. Still a lot of errors in passing, and in getting out of tight situations in the middle. Was really impressed with the way the opponents passed the ball around. They remind me of how their coach played during his days. The defense has improved, whether with Tomori/Thiaw or Tomori/Gabbia. Thiaw is beginning to pass the ball better. Gabbia, despite the few minutes on the pitch, has shown that he’s our best defender. The management should get a good right-back. Emerson Royal is a timebomb. The attack is our weak link now. And the blame doesn’t fall on the frontmen alone. Fofana, Reijnders, don’t know how to finish the through balls. Most of their shots are too central, making them easy saves for the goalies. Fofana has to work on his shots. Football is not all about passing the ball, and turning your opponents. You should be able make your opponents and their goalies fear your shots. Good result. There’s still room for improvements. And, we need a top quality striker asap.